Austriamicrosystems has agreed to a $320 million deal to acquire Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (TAOS). This will allow the Austrian chip maker to benefit from the huge demand for sensors used in tablet computers and smart phones.
Austriamicrosystems Chief Executive Officer John Heugle said in a statement that TAOS held a strong market position as a leading, high- volume provider to many major makers of mobile consumer electronics worldwide. Mr Heugle added that the strategic combination of Austriamicrosystems and TAOS creates a significant provider of advanced sensor technologies for the attractive smartphone and tablet PC markets.
TAOS is a US company based in Plano in Texas and has been producing light and proximity sensors for gadgets such as mobiles and high definition televisions for over a decade. They have been expanding their portfolio of programmable analog and digital RGB color sensors that provide accurate color discrimination, determination and measurement.
TAOS’s sales doubled last year to $81 million, and operating profit exceeded 30 percent of revenue. Austriamicrosystems will profit from the complementary expansion of portfolio. They already produce high performance analog ICs, combining over two decades of analog design capabilities with system know-how along with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities.